Bring me to life
by aivana
Summary: "I choose me" Kelly once said to both of them. Years later she forgot the words, now she has to live with the consequences.
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note**: I got the idea for this story a few weeks back while I was intensively working on "The things we do for love". After writing two or three chapters I got stuck with it, but now it looks that this story might be finished before my other one. That's the main reason I decided to post it now.

The story starts about 6 years after Brandon & Kelly's un-wedding. As you can guess it's another Brandon & Kelly story from me, I like them the best out of all the pairings in BH90210 and I also know them the best. So enjoy the story and any reviews, positive or negative are welcome.

* * *

**Chapter 1**

She smiled watching her son who was all focused on building a sandcastle. His blond locks were falling on his forehead and his tongue slightly sticking out of his mouth as he was adding yet another bucket of sand to his masterpiece.

She laid back on the blanket but winced from pain immediately, quickly positioning herself on her side. For a second she forgot about the events of the previous night, but the pain brought everything back. Her son's father paid them yet another drunken visit the night before, luckily her son slept for most of it. She closed her eyes briefly thinking about the events of previous night.

_It was 10pm and she was getting ready for bed when she heard the doorbell ring. She quickly headed to the door hoping the sound won't wake up her sleeping son. When she opened them, she felt a bulge building up in her stomach immediately. He was drunk again. She hasn't seen him in the last months, but his previous visits were certainly not forgotten._

_He smirked. "Hey Kel, long time no see."_

"_Dylan!" She tried to stay calm and not let him see any of her fear._

"_Were you not going to invite me in?"He smiled devilishly as he passed her while walking into her apartment and sprawling himself on the sofa._

_She closed the door and followed him, every inch of her body scared from what was about to come. "What are you doing here, Dylan?" _

"_I've missed you." He smirked patting the spot next to him. "Come to me." _

"_No." She whispered._

"_Oh, that's a novelty. Someone is playing Miss Untouchable. But I like it, it'll make things much more special." He laughed._

"_You're drunk, Dylan."_

"_Yeah, maybe I'm a little bit wasted, but I'm still capable of doing you." _

"_But I don't want to." Kelly said still keeping her distance from him._

"_Who would have thought, Kelly Taylor living in celibate." he laughed. _

_Before she could react he stood up quickly and pulled her close to him pressing his lips hard on hers while pulling up her tank top. Kelly tried to push his hands away but even drunk he was way stronger than her. She bit his lip hard, her heart beating quickly from fear._

"_You bitch!" He screamed pushing her away from him which sent her flying directly to the door frame. She hit her back hard and slid down to the ground unable to control her body. She saw him coming and knew what was about to happen. She tried to protect her face while his fists hit her body._

_Suddenly a children's voice echoed from the room. "Mommy!" Hearing his son Dylan let go of her and stumbled to the front door. "I'll come to see you some other time, maybe you should arrange a sitter so we're not interrupted." He laughed as he shut the door behind him._

"_Mommy!" She heard her son's voice again. She slowly got up from the floor and straightened her clothes still trembling from fear. She took a deep breath trying to calm down before walking into Sam's room, she couldn't let him see her shaken up like that._

"Mommy, I need you to help me." Kelly heard her son's voice as he ran to her. She sat up and pulled him into her lap tickling him. The little boy squealed in delight.

"Did I help you enough." She laughed as her son wrapped his small arms around her neck.

"No, I need you to help me with the tower of the sandcastle." He said pointing to it.

"Alright." She helped him up and got up too taking his hand into hers.

They laughed as they worked on the sandcastle together. Mother and son enjoying a Saturday afternoon. Little did they know that their solitude was about to be shaken up once again.

"Kel?" She heard her name. When she looked up her icy blue eyes met with his baby blue ones. Seeing him hit her like a ton of bricks. Yet another blast from the past was about to enter her life.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you for your reviews, I'm not going to explain why Dylan is acting the way he is towards Kelly, he'll do it himself later on. For now I'd just say that he picked the shortest straw in my story. :) It's also nothing personal since he is among my fave characters in BH._

**Chapter 2**

"Brandon! What are you doing here?" She asked surprised. She hasn't seen him since the day he left Los Angeles and that was almost 6 years ago.

"Steve, didn't call you?" Brandon asked while looking her up. She still looked amazing, her hair was a bit longer but she still looked like the same Kelly Taylor he left here years ago.

"No, he didn't." She felt small sandy hands hugging her leg and let her hand caress the little boys back.

Brandon's gaze followed Kelly's hand and he looked at the blond-haired boy who could be around three years old.

She knew it was inevitable. "Brandon, this is my son Sam." Kelly said taking her son's hand in hers.

"Hi, Sam!" Brandon greeted the little boy trying to hide his surprise.

"Hi! Hi!" Sammy said shyly.

"I didn't know you had a son, Kel. Or that you were married for the record." He said forcing a smile.

"Well, I'm not married, but I do have a son." She smiled softly. "But you still haven't answer my question. What are you doing here? The last I knew you were living in Washington with your family."

"I still am. We're here for a week, wanted to show Julie our hometown." He chuckled. "We're staying with Steve & Janet. That's why I asked you if Steve called."

"That's great. How old is your daughter now?" Kelly asked politely.

"She's three. Growing way too fast if you ask me. We're having a barbeque at Steve's house tonight, why don't you and Sam come over too?" Brandon asked studying her face.

"I don't think it's such a good idea." She whispered.

"Why?" He asked surprised. "Something happened between you Steve?"

"No, we're fine. You came here to see Steve and Janet and I don't want to intrude." She said almost as shyly as her own son minutes ago.

"I came here to see my friends and even if I didn't act like one in the last few years, you're one of my friends, Kelly." He said hoping that she'd change her mind.

"I'm sorry, Brandon. We've already something planned for tonight." She lied. She couldn't go there, she couldn't see his happy family knowing that it could have been her in that place. Instead she was stuck in the nightmare she was living.

"We've got to go." She picked up Sam. "Have a nice stay, Brandon." She smiled at him softly.

Brandon just stood there watching them leave wondering what happened to his Kelly Taylor. He needed to remind himself quickly that she wasn't his anymore, he let her go years ago. He'd never admit to anyone that part of the reason he wanted to go to LA was to see her again and he was not happy with what he saw. He wanted some answers and he wanted them before he left for Washington again.

* * *

It has been a nice evening for the Sanders and Walsh family. They had a blast during the barbeque especially the three little girls they shared among them. Steve and Janet's Madeline was already five, two years ago her little sister Violet joined the family. Brandon and Susan's daughter Julie was three. She had her parents dark hair and her mom's dark brown eyes. It was now shortly before midnight and the kids as well as Janet and Susan were asleep inside, it was just Brandon and Steve chatting in the backyard with cans of beer in their hands.

"Steve, why didn't you tell Kelly that we were coming?" Brandon asked suddenly looking at his friend.

"I told her." Steve lied, he was sure that there was no way that Brandon would know the truth.

"I met her at the beach today." Brandon studied the can of beer in his hand. "With her son." He looked at Steve.

Steve gulped. "Bran…" He tried to say something but was interrupted.

"That leads me to the question, why didn't you tell me that she has a son? He looks around three so it's not a novelty either." Brandon said calmly.

"It's complicated." Steve whispered looking in the distance.

"What do you mean by that?" Brandon asked getting slightly irritated.

"That maybe you should ask those questions to Kelly. It's none of my business to explain to anyone what's going on in her life."

"Well, lucky for you. You're here and she isn't. When I met her today she wasn't the same person I once wanted to marry, the Kelly Taylor I knew never had fear in her eyes. Steve, I want to know what's going on." Brandon said impatiently.

Steve took a deep breath. "Alright, but you haven't heard this from me."

Brandon nodded. "Spill the beans."

"Around the time of Donna & David's wedding after Kelly broke off her engagement with Matt, Dylan came back into her life. Everything went great at first, it looked that he was finally ready to commit. Looking back, it's clear that all went too good to be true. About a year after they got together she got pregnant, Dylan wanted her to take care of it." Steve stopped to take a breath.

"Kelly didn't want to, right?" Brandon asked, knowing how much she liked children and that there was no way that Kelly would have an abortion after her diagnoses.

"Right. Saying that Dylan was pissed off would be an understatement. He was furious when she refused. He moved out and started drinking again, going off on his surfing trips and so-called world adventures."

"So he left them?" Brandon asked confused about where this was heading.

"Yes and no. Leaving them alone would be a good thing in this case." Steve sighed.

"Okay, where is this heading?" Brandon asked impatiently.

"I haven't told this to anyone, not even my wife…. I think that he's abusing her." Steve murmured.

"What?" Brandon was shocked, he felt the blood boiling in his veins.

"I don't know for sure in a sense that Kelly never confirmed it. About a year ago she called me during the night. She needed help. When I got to her apartment." He gulped replaying the evening in his head. "There were more bruises on her body that you can count. She told me not to ask questions, so I didn't. I took her to the hospital, she said there that she fell of the stairs." Steve whispered.

"How do you know it was Dylan who did that? It's not something that he'd do."

"He was in town at that time, Noah saw him at After Dark, he was drunken and left for a few hours then came back later. The time frame fits all too well. Me and Kelly never really talked about that night, but after that I started watching her more closely. Bruises appeared here and there after his visits to town, but nothing as dramatic as that night. Either Kelly got better at hiding them or he learned to aim better while drunk." Steve said through gritted teeth.

"What are we going to do?" Brandon asked trying to stay calm, but more than ready to go out, find Dylan McKay once his best friend, and made his life the same hell as Kelly was apparently going through.

"We can't do anything. She's the one that needs to report him. Even if I would report him, she can still cover him as she did that night at hospital." Steve looked down at his hands. "You still love her Brandon, don't you?"

"Yes." Brandon whispered.

"Then let her be. She does not need another former lover turning her life upside down. Especially when it's already completely messed up. She has Sam and she's doing her best to raise him alone. You have a nice family here Brandon, a wife that loves you and a beautiful daughter. Concentrate on them." Steve looked at him almost pleading.

"I can't. Now that I know all of this I just can't." Brandon sighed. "Not everything is as good as it looks. The truth is that our marriage is falling apart and this trip is probably the last attempt to save it." He looked up at Steve.

"I didn't know, Bran. I though you two were committed to each other." Steve said patting his friends back.

"We were, but not in the same way as I was committed to Kelly or Susan to Jonathan for the record. You can't be happy in a marriage when you both love someone else. I just wish we've realized that before Julie was added to the mix." Brandon sighed.

"So what are you going to do?" Steve asked .

"As for my marriage, the more we try to save it, the more I'm sure that we're heading towards divorce. As for Kelly. I don't know, but I have to do something. I can't live with the thought that one day you're going call me that he aimed all too well and she's not among the living anymore." Brandon rested his head in his palms.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Kelly closed the book she was reading to Sam and watched her sleeping son. Sometimes she wished to be like him, innocent, carefree and not aware of anything that was going on around him. Life would have been so much easier that way. She closed her eyes for a bit when she heard a knock on the door. She put away the book she was still holding and closed the door at Sam's room heading to the front door. The only thing she hoped for before she opened them was that it was not Dylan.

"Brandon?" She asked surprised to see him for the second time in the last two days.

"Hey. I didn't want to ring the bell in case Sam was already asleep." He smiled at her noticing how sad and tired she looked. "Can I come in?"

"Yes, sorry." She moved to the side letting him in. "I'm just surprised to see you here at this hour. I thought you were in town with Susan and your daughter." She led him to the living area.

"Yes, I am. But I wanted to see my friends too and Susan wants to meet hers." He said watching her again.

"Can I get you something to drink?" Kelly asked him as they moved to the living room area.

"Water will be fine."

She smiled at him before heading to the kitchen area and pouring them some water in the glasses. As she returned she noticed that he was watching her closely which made her blush a little. He smiled as he noticed her cheeks going a light shade of pink. She put the glasses on the table and sat on the other end of sofa pulling her knees up.

"So how are you doing?" She asked trying to break the awkward silence between them.

"I'm good. Still in Washington, still working at Times and still married with one child. How about you?"

"I'm good too. I still work in PR and it's going good. Sam's taking most of my other time." She smiled thinking of her little boy.

"Is his father not around?" Brandon blurred out.

She looked away. "It's complicated. But he mostly isn't around." Kelly replied not really liking where this conversation was heading.

"I understand. You don't want to talk about it either." Brandon said looking directly at her.

"What do you mean by that?" Kelly looked at him confused.

"I tried to ask Steve, but he was not giving me any answers." Brandon looked at her hoping that she'd tell him about Dylan herself.

Kelly breathed a sigh of relief inside knowing that Steve kept his mouth shut. "So that's why you came here? To find out with who got me pregnant?"

"No, I came here to catch up with a friend, but I honestly can't understand why you and Steve kept this from me."

"We were not exactly on speaking terms the last six years." Kelly looked at him studying his face.

"But I still care about you." Brandon said. "Damn it Kelly, I still love you. I tried about everything to forget that, but I can't." He looked at the shocked expression on Kelly's face. Before he realized what he was doing he leaned in and kissed her lips. What surprised him the most was that her lips responded to his eagerly.

Kelly slowly stood up not partying her lips from Brandon's, their hands caressing each other as they made their way into her bedroom. Their clothes were tossed on the floor in the heat of the moment, before their bodies became one as they made love to each other.

Minutes later Kelly was laying on her side, looking through the window at the stars outside. She kept hearing Brandon's soft snoring, she nearly forgot how calming it was. She thought that she'd feel loved, satisfied and complete after doing this, the feelings she felt with him in the past and yearned for so much, but all she felt was guilt and disgust. She should never let this happen. He was married, he had a family out there. She got out of the bed trying her best not to wake Brandon up, grabbed a pair of pajama pants and tank top and put them on before heading out of the bedroom. She sat on the sofa, where they've talked before, pulling her legs close to her feeling the tears building in her eyes. Her whole life was a mess and she was not sure how to fix it.

"Kel?" She nearly jumped when she heard his voice. She tried to look up at him, but her vision was blurry from all the tears. "What's wrong?" Brandon asked. He sat next to her hugging her as he felt her wince from pain.

Brandon could now clearly see what was hidden from him before, first under the shirt and later in the dark of her bedroom. He gritted his teeth with disgusted look on his face while he softly ran his fingertips over her colorful skin. "Did he do this to you? Did Dylan this to you?" Brandon asked with anger in his voice.

Kelly nearly jumped at the sound of Dylan's name. She just felt more tears pour down he cheeks.

"Kelly answer to me!" Brandon demanded standing right in front of her.

"How do you know about Dylan?" She asked, her voice suddenly tired.

"It's not important how I know. Now answer my question."

"Why? So you can play Mr. Perfect and fix my life once again? I'm not interested in that Brandon. You were not here for six fucking years, you did not give a shit about me." She yelled. "You know, you and Dylan are not so different from each other. I'm just a slut to both of you. You waltz back into my life and expect me to greet you with my arms open."

"You're wrong Kelly. There is a big difference between me and Dylan. You were and never will be a slut to me and most of all I'd never beat the shit out of you." Brandon yelled back at her. "I honestly don't understand what are you waiting for. Until he spins totally out of control and leaves you with serious injuries instead of bruises. Or until he kills you? Damn it, Kelly! You have a child. Did you ever thought about what will happen with your son if Dylan breaks you?"

"Why do you even care?" Kelly laughed. "You should just go Brandon. Go back to your family. Back to your perfect life you're living out there and leave me alone. What happened tonight was a mistake and it's never going to happen again."

"Kel…"

"Just leave, please…" Kelly said looking down.

"If that's what you want, I'll go…." He said looking at her hoping she'll change her mind. She just nodded her head not looking at him. He sighed and headed out of the door feeling defeated. Once the door closed behind him Kelly slid back onto the sofa sobbing uncontrollably.

* * *

Brandon arrived back at Steve's house after midnight, not ready to sleep he plopped himself on the sofa in living room. After he left Kelly's place he was driving aimlessly through the streets of LA sorting his thoughts. The night made at least one thing crystal clear, his marriage with Susan was over. When he cheated on Kelly years back he felt enormous guilt, he had no such a feelings now. He regretted a lot of things that happened at Kelly's place, but the sex they had, was not one of them. He wished he had not lost his temper and they talked everything calmly, but maybe it was for the best that they didn't. This way she somehow shattered the walls that she built around herself and maybe said more that she would say in any other situation.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard steps coming. Seconds later Steve appeared in the door. "I thought you were not going to come back." Steve plopped himself on the couch too.

"You're worse than my wife." Brandon said with slight irritation in his voice.

"So where have you been all this time? You left after 7 pm and it's now something like 1 am." Steve looked at him.

"It's none of your business." Brandon replied.

"Okay, that one can be translated as, I went to visit Kelly Taylor. Tell me you didn't?" Steve groaned.

"Yeah, I did. Judging by her colorful back, Dylan paid her a visit too, not that long ago. You were right, he learned to aim." Brandon sighed with disgusted look on his face.

"Did you manage to talk to her?"

"We were mostly yelling at each other. She is going to break soon if we don't do something and I think I might have added to that tonight."

"Bran, when I told you to stay away from her, I did mean it. That girl can't take much more." Steve said with a serious look on his face.

"It's too late, the damage is already done." Brandon whispered.

* * *

Kelly picked up the phone and dialed the number, although the clock showed 1 am she knew that the person on the other end will be still up.

"Hello?" The voice on the other end could be heard.

"Hi! It's Kelly. I was wondering if the offer still stands."

"Yes, it does. When are you two coming?"

"We'll be on the first afternoon flight today."

"Okay, I'll come to pick you two up at the airport."

"Thanks."

"I'm glad you finally made this decision."

"So am I." Kelly whispered.

"I'll see you later. Bye!"

"Bye!"

Kelly closed her cell and stood up from the sofa. There was a long night of packing ahead of her.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Life's full of surprises and sometimes your worst enemy becomes your savior. That was certainly true for the relationship that Kelly had with a certain Valerie Malone. This made Kelly chuckle inside while sitting on the flight to Buffalo. Last night was a good one, as emotionally draining as it was, it made her realize that it was finally time to move on, move away from Los Angeles and start anew somewhere else where her past won't haunt her. She knew that people would see it as running away, but in her mind she was just moving on, hoping for a better life for her and her son.

She looked at Sammy who was coloring a picture in the seat next to her and ruffled his blond hair. They'd do just alright. It was the second time in her life that she choose herself when the time came, but as much as she regretted it later on with the first time she was sure that this time it'd be different.

* * *

"Kelly." She heard her name when she walked into the busy arrival flights hall with Sam in her arms.

"Valerie." Kelly smiled as the two of them hugged, something that was unthinkable years back.

"Hi Sam!" Valerie ruffled his blond locks.

"Hi, auntie Val." The little boy smiled brightly. "Mommy, said we'll stay with you now."

"That's right." Val smiled as they headed to the baggage claim.

"So did you tell anyone that you were leaving?" Val asked.

"No. I thought it was for the best if no one knew. I know they won't tell him directly, but someone might as well accidentally spill it out." Kelly replied.

"You're right. I'm really glad to see you two here." Valerie smiled.

"Thanks, Val! It really means a lot." Kelly smiled sincerely for the first time in what seemed like eternity.

After the baggage arrived the three of them made their way to Val's car. After a few minutes Sam fell asleep leaving them with the opportunity to talk.

"So what happened that you decided to take on my offer?" Val asked without future ado.

"It's a long story." Kelly sighed not really willing to talk about yesterday.

"We have time." Val replied.

"Alright. I had two unexpected visits or let's say one, I could see the first one coming at some point." Kelly groaned.

"Okay, let me guess, Dylan showed up drunken and ready and when he did not get what he wanted, he took it out on you." Val said dryly looking at the road.

"Yeah, Sam woke up at some point which made him leave." Kelly breathed out.

Valerie just shook her head in disbelieve. "So who was the second visitor?"

"Brandon." Kelly looked out of the window.

"Brandon?!" Valerie asked shocked.

"Yes, he was in town with Susan & Julie. We incidentally met at the beach the day after Dylan's visit, he invited me over to Steve & Janet's that evening but I refused. The next evening he came over to my apartment." Kelly said.

"What? Why?!"

"I don't know and I don't really want to know. He was informed pretty well about what was going on between me and Dylan though." Kelly looked out of the window.

"I haven't told him anything, Kelly. I promised you and I kept my promise." Val said.

"I know. He heard it from Steve. He took me to the hospital once after a pretty bad visit from Dylan. Despite everything he's not dumb, he figured it out although we never talked about it." Kelly said running her fingers through her hair.

"So what happened while Brandon was over?" Val asked.

"He was mad at me, since I haven't told him that I had a son." Kelly started.

Val laughed, "He's just so funny sometimes, you guys were not exactly on speaking terms if I remember correctly."

"That's what I told him. For the rest of time we just yelled at each other, before I asked him to leave. Unlike Dylan he actually leaves when he's asked to." Kelly let out forced laugh purposely leaving out the parts about Brandon's confession and their one night stand.

Valerie knew that she did not hear the whole story, but she was not going to push it any further. She knew that once Kelly will be ready she'll tell her also the rest, for now she was just glad that Kelly and Sam were there, safe from Dylan. She still remembered what she saw over six months ago and she'd never wish that to anyone. The only bright side on the Kelly and Dylan drama was that she found a new friend, someone she never imagined will be included into the group.

* * *

Brandon came home earlier that day, he wanted to talk to Susan before her parents bough Julie back. It was a week since they returned back to Washington and his mind still kept going back to Kelly. He returned to her apartment before they left, but no one was answering the door. After they came home, Steve called him that Kelly left Los Angeles the next morning after their fight. As much as he wanted to trace her, he knew that she needed time and space, he just hoped that wherever she was, she was safe and happy.

He walked into the kitchen and found Susan preparing the dinner.

"Hey hon." He walked to Susan and kissed her cheek quickly.

"Hey! I was not expecting you so early." She smiled.

"I just thought that we could talk while Julie's not here." Brandon said truthfully.

"That's probably a good idea." Susan said as her smile faded away.

"Susan, I don't think this is going to work." Brandon started.

"I know." She whispered. "It's not going anywhere, instead of getting together we're each going in different direction." She said looking directly in Brandon's eyes.

Brandon just nodded. "I'll fill the papers tomorrow."

"Alright." Susan said. "Probably the sooner the better." She smiled bitterly. "But we have to talk about Julie."

"What about Julie?" Brandon asked confused. "I thought we agreed on joint custody."

"Yes, we did." Susan started not knowing how to tell him about it. "I don't know how to say it Brandon… There is a possibility that Julie is not yours…" she said just above whisper.

"What?!" Brandon's eyes widened in shock. "What do you mean that Julie might not be mine?"

"I….I had a fling with someone around the time I got pregnant with her."

Brandon felt like the world was spinning, this was not happening, this couldn't be happening. "Who was it?" He asked firmly.

"Jonathan." Susan said as the tears built up in her eyes.

"I should have thought so, you could never kept your hands away from him for too long. Why haven't you told me before?" He said as more tears poured from her eyes, but he did not care, she hurt him like no one else ever did, he was not going to make this any easier for her.

"I thought she was yours, I wanted her to be yours."

"Why? Because it was easier? Because we were married? Damn it Susan, you lied to me for more than three years."

"Brandon! Please." He just shook his head heading to their bedroom. She followed him there, trying to control her sobs. "What are you doing?" She asked as she watched him throwing his clothes into his suitcase.

"I'll be staying at the hotel. I'll fill out the divorce papers tomorrow. When you want to do a paternity test let me know when and where, I'll be there." He said not looking at her as he finished packing his things. "I'll come over to spent time with Julie as soon as possible." As he walked out of the room she tried to stop him.

"Brandon, please. We need to talk about this." She pleaded.

"I don't think there is anything more to talk about and I honestly don't want to hear anything more now." He passed her by and walked out of his house slamming the door behind him.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

Brandon stared at the envelope in his hands, envelope that could have damaging effect for at least two people, him and the little girl he called his daughter after he saw her on the ultrasound at 19 weeks of gestation. It's been a month since he temporally moved out of his house and filed for divorce. He still came back quite often to spent time with Julie, tuck her in the bed in the evenings and watch her fall asleep clutching to her sandy brown teddy bear.

10 days ago Susan told him that she wanted to do the paternity test. The results finally arrived today. He slowly opened the envelope pulling out the papers. He read through the pages before he rested his head in his hands, tears flowing down his cheeks and the papers falling down on the floor. One sentence replaying in his mind over and over, _"There is a 0% chance that Brandon Walsh is the father of Julie Elizabeth Walsh."_

* * *

Kelly was laying on her bed staring at the ceiling. It's been over a month since she and Sam moved to Buffalo and things were going great for the mother and son duo. They moved in with Val into a three bedroom apartment and Kelly soon found a job in a local PR agency which she loved to bits. Kelly noticed too late that everything was too good to be true.

She had gone through this twice before, the first time she had to face Brandon, the second time Dylan. Both times couldn't have been more different. While the first one was loving and supportive, the second one turned into a beast. Yet it was the second one whom she blessed with a healthy and happy child even though he never appreciated that.

She heard the timer as it went off. Taking a deep breath she stood up from the bed and headed to the dresser. Her hand trembled as she picked up the pregnancy test looking down at it. She closed her eyes. Two…there were two pink lines screaming at her. She felt her legs giving up on her as she slid down to her knees, feeling the hot tears flowing down her cheeks. What was she going to do?

Hours later she heard the front door open and close. Her room was dark. After crawling to bed and crying her eyes out she was not even able to move.

"Mommy?" She heard a small voice from the door. He was soon followed by Valerie who sensed right away that something was wrong.

"Sam, why don't you go to your room and play with the cars for a bit." Val asked as she ruffled the little boys hair. "We'll then make the chocolate chip pancakes I promised you."

"Okay." The little boy ran away to his room happily. Valerie watched him before he disappeared. Turning her attention back to Kelly she closed the door behind her and turned on the light on Kelly's nightstand. Kelly squirmed, her eyes not used to the bright light. She felt Valerie sitting on the other end of bed.

"Kel, what's wrong?" She asked looking at Kelly who was lying curled up on the bed, tears still visible on her cheeks.

"Kelly?" Val asked again before her eyes wandered to the slender object laying next to Kelly.

Kelly finally looked at Valerie and followed her gaze. "It's positive." She whispered. "It looks that we did it again."

"Maybe it's wrong. It won't be the first false positive." Valerie said hopeful.

Kelly just shook her head. "I think it's right, I'm already more than two weeks late, just wasn't brave enough to test." She slowly shifted herself to sitting position and leaned against the pillows on her bed. "This just shouldn't be happening, not now, not this way." Kelly said her voice tired.

"I know." Valerie hugged her. "You didn't have a choice. So stop blaming yourself."

Kelly frowned for a bit before it clicked, "I did have a choice, Val. The baby…it's not Dylan's…"

Valerie looked at her surprised. "What do you mean that it's not Dylan's?"

Kelly knew that she needed to reveal also the other part of her meeting with Brandon. "That night when Brandon came over we…we slept together…" Kelly breathed out. "The baby is Brandon's." She said looking at her friend. "It was a mistake and I regretted it the moment it ended."

"You should tell him Kelly." Valerie said looking directly at her.

"I can't. He is married, I don't want to ruin his marriage with this." Kelly looked away.

"I don't understand you. You don't want to ruin Dylan's life so you don't report him, you don't want to ruin Brandon's life so you won't tell him about the pregnancy, but at the same time you're more than willing let both of them ruin your life." Valerie said dryly. "If ruining his marriage is your only concern, you won't ruin anything."

"What do you mean?" Kelly asked confused.

"You two should talk together. I'm not going to play the third-party between the two of you, I did it in the past and I think we both agree that it was not for the best." Valerie said. "Just talk to him, okay?"

"I can't, Val." Kelly shook her head.

"So you want to go through this alone? Again?" Valerie asked frustrated.

"Yes." Kelly whispered. "I don't know if I'll be able to carry the baby…but I do know that I don't want Brandon in its life."

"Why? It's his baby too, don't you think he has a right to know?"

"Yes, he does have a right to know. But allowing him into the baby's life would mean allowing him in my life too and I don't want that. I'm not ready for that…" Kelly rested her head back and looked at the ceiling.

Valerie knew that this conversation was over, Kelly had already decided what she wanted to do and there was no way to change her mind. But it wouldn't be Valerie if a plan was not already coming along nicely in her mind, she promised Kelly she won't tell anyone where she was staying and technically she won't tell it to anyone.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

Brandon walked out of the courtroom, four years of marriage ended in 10 minutes. Their divorce was finalized. He watched Susan leaving the building with her lawyer, he thought he would feel something, sadness or anger, but none of them was coming. He just felt empty. He did not even feel sadness for losing his daughter, he lost her already weeks before. After the test results came he talked to Susan, he wanted to stay in the girl's life. Susan made it clear that it was not in her plan, he did not fight, maybe he should, but he let it be. He had no desire to fight anymore.

He tossed with his cell, finally dialing the number. After ringing several times it went to voice mail. "Hi Val, it's Brandon. The divorce is finalized. Look…I guess I'll take you up on that offer, I need to get away from here for a bit. I'll be in Buffalo around 7pm. Bye!"

He sighed closing the cell. Few weeks ago during one of their phone calls Valerie told him to come if he needed to get away from his problems. Now that everything was finalized it was time to make that visit. He walked outside the courthouse and headed to his car, there was a long car drive before him.

* * *

It was Friday evening and Kelly was finishing the dinner. It was just her and Sam, who was playing in his room. Valerie was out with her new boy toy, she wanted to make it a double date with a friend of his, but men were the last thing Kelly was interested in now. Besides, she looked down at her four months belly, she was not an ideal dating material anyway.

She heard the doorbell ring, so she jogged to the door, nearly fainting when she saw who was standing there. "Brandon?!"

"Kel? What are you doing here?" He asked completely shocked to see her.

"I live here." Kelly said tugging on her shirt. She was now glad that she was wearing one of the oversized ones that managed to hide her already growing belly.

He looked at her confused. "You live with Valerie?"

"How about we move the discussion inside. I guess you came to see Valerie anyway." Kelly said stepping aside letting Brandon in. She tried to behave as natural as possible, didn't want to rise any suspicion.

Brandon walked in, he was still shocked to see Kelly there. Although he had to admit that this was definitely not a place where Dylan would be looking for her, so in the end it was a smart move on her side. He looked around the place as Kelly led him to the kitchen, despite living relatively close, he never visited Valerie before.

"Me and Sam were about to have dinner. You want to join us?" She asked him as he sat on the bar stool by the counter.

"I don't want to intrude, Kel." He said politely watching her, there was something different about her but he couldn't figure out what it was.

"You're not intruding Brandon. If I thought so, I wouldn't let you in." She smiled stirring the sauce at the pan.

"In that case, I'd love to join you two." He smiled too.

"Okay. Oh and Valerie's outside, date night." Kelly said as she was setting the table.

"She probably didn't get my message. So tell me, you and Valerie…how did that happened? The last time I checked you two couldn't stand each other." He laughed.

"To keep a long story short. When she was in LA she saw one of Dylan's outbursts. She offered me a place to stay if I ever decided to leave LA and I took her upon the offer. We're getting along pretty well." Kelly turned around as she finished the table.

"So you took her upon the offer after my visit." He said ironically.

"Yes, do you have a problem with that?" She moved to the stove.

"No, I just want to know who were you running from. The bastard that beats you up or me." He looked at her.

"Both of you." She whispered. "What happened between us was a mistake and it'll never happen again." She unwittingly caressed her belly.

That's when it finally clicked. "Yes, I already heard that. But it looks to me that the mistake has an aftermath." He pointed to the hand on her stomach.

Kelly quickly pulled her hand away, she opened her mouth to speak but was unable to say anything. "Did you at least plan on telling me?" Brandon asked looking at her coldly.

"The baby is not yours." She whispered finally tears glistening in her eyes.

He started to laugh. "Yeah, right Kel. So whose baby is it? Dylan's? Were you sleeping with him and then he'd beat you up as a thank you, or are you suddenly in some kinky stuff that would explain the bruises?" He stood up and walked close to her, he saw the tears and pain in her eyes but he did not care, he was hurting too. "People around you are not stupid Kelly, so stop lying to me. I've had more than enough of that in my life lately. Were you going to tell me about the pregnancy?"

She just shook her head not daring to look at him. "You don't understand."

"No, I obviously don't understand why you want to keep the pregnancy a secret from me. I don't understand why you want to go through this alone when you don't have to. There are many more things you do or did in the past that I don't understand. So do you care to explain it to me? Is this some "I choose me" bullshit going on once again or what?"

"I don't want to be hurt." She whispered looking into his eyes.

"I'd never hurt you, Kelly." Brandon rested his hands on her face.

"You already hurt me before, not physically like Dylan. But you hurt me maybe as many times as he did. With Emma, with running away from LA, with cutting me out of your life and then coming back like nothing happened. I don't want to go through that again. I don't want to be hurt again."

Brandon just shook his head. "What are you doing? What are you doing with your life Kelly? Running away from everyone, pushing all your friends away so you don't get hurt without realizing that you are hurting yourself in the process."

He watched her as she slid to the floor crying, he wanted to take her in his arms and calm her down telling her that everything was going to be okay. Instead he just grabbed his things and walked out of the house, she made it clear, she was not interested in any of that. Brandon sat at the stairs outside and rested his hands feeling the tears in his eyes, he now felt everything that he should have felt the very same morning, anger, sadness and pain. He was losing her again.

* * *

Hours later Brandon was still sitting on the stairs when Valerie returned from her date. She was surprised that he was sitting outside, it looked that her perfect plan had some cracks.

"Hi Brandon." She sat down to him. "I thought that by now you'd be inside with Kelly."

"I should have known that this was your idea." He looked in distance.

"When Kelly told me about the pregnancy and you being the father I had to do something. She was not going to tell you on her own." Valerie said.

"I already heard that one from her personally." He sighed.

"I guess it didn't go well."

"That would be an understatement. It was a pure disaster." He massaged his temples.

"You want to talk about it?"

"There's not much to talk about, she is pregnant, the baby is mine. She doesn't want me in its life, some shit about not wanting to be hurt again or whatever."

"She needs time Brandon, she's been through hell."

"I have been through hell too. Val, I love her. I ran away from her as far as I could but I couldn't run away from my feelings for her. When Susan got pregnant and we got married all I could think about was how am I going to explain it to Kelly. We were not even in contact at that time."

Val rested her hand on his knee. "Give her some time, she'll come around."

"How do you know?"

"Because what I learned during the "I hate Kelly" period is that you two are meant to be together, no matter what or who stands between the two of you, you'll find your way together. Because she has the exactly same feelings for you, but with all that she's been through with Dylan she is too scared to trust her feelings now. Do you think she'd have slept with you back in Los Angeles if there were no feelings left?"

"The Kelly I know wouldn't do that, but she slept with Dylan as well."

"You got that one completely wrong, Dylan was beating her up because he did not get what he wanted."

Brandon never thought that it was possible to feel worse than before, but he did after Val's last sentence. "I should go to find some hotel and get a bit of sleep before I return to Washington."

"You can stay here." Valerie offered him.

"Thanks! But I don't think Kelly would appreciate that much, especially not after what went on tonight." He stood up.

"Alright." Valerie stood up too and gave him a hug. "I'll call you."

"Val." He looked at her. "Take care of Kelly for me."

"I will, although I'm sure she'll give me a bit of cold treatment after today." Val rolled her eyes.

"Your intentions were good, but the timing was not right." He smiled a bit.

"She'll come around, Brandon." Val assured him one more time.

"I hope so." Valerie watched him as he walked down the pavement to his car and drove off into the night.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Valerie was right. It took Kelly nearly another two months, but she was now standing in the rest room of Washington airport. She ran her hands down the flowery dress she was wearing, stopping at her stomach. She looked at the growing belly, feeling the baby kick. She felt her anxiety levels rise even more, which she thought was not even possible. What seemed like a good idea back in Buffalo, felt like the dumbest one now. What if he won't even talk to her? Kelly run her fingers through her shoulder long hair before grabbing her bag and pulling out the piece of paper with Brandon's address that Valerie wrote for her. During the flight she was toying with the idea of waiting till another day, but she knew that she'd drive herself crazy overnight.

The taxi stopped in front of a nice Victorian house. It was already nearly 7 pm and she hoped that Brandon was home. She walked to the front door ringing the bell. In a short time the front door opened, Brandon standing in front of her. She could see the surprise in his face.

"Kelly?!"

"Hi, Brandon!" She murmured.

"What are you doing here?" He asked noticing how nervous she looked.

"I'm returning your visit from a few weeks, I guess." She laughed nervously.

"Come on in." He smiled softly letting her into the house. Even though surprised he couldn't be happier to see her there.

As he led her to the living room, she noticed the slight mess in the house which was pretty atypical for Brandon. "Do you want something to drink?"

"No thanks." She smiled softly as he sat in the armchair across from her.

"So what brings you over here?" He asked. "Sorry, I'm surprised to see you after the last time we met." He told her truthfully still trying to process that she was here in front of him.

"I…I guess we need to talk." Kelly stammered looking down at her lap, unsure how to start this or what to say for the record. "I'm sorry...that I pushed you away, I'm sorry I told you I don't want you to be in my and the baby's life, I know you hate me now, but maybe one day you'll be able to forgive me." She suddenly felt overwhelmed with everything again and unable to say anything more. So she stood up and walked out of the house leaving completely confused Brandon there.

She walked aimlessly through the neighborhood before finding a small park. She sat on one of the swings there. Since she was a little girl she loved swings, they made her feel free, made her believe that she could reach sky and let all her fears and problems down on the earth. She tilted her head resting it against one of the metallic chains the tears streaming down her cheeks.

She let out a scream when she felt two hands sliding around her. "I'm sorry, Kel. I didn't mean to scare you." She heard the familiar voice before she turned and looked into his baby blue eyes.

He could tell that she was crying, he hated to see her in tears, he always did. He never wanted to hurt her and he regretted every single tear that she cried because of him. "I was looking for you and somehow I figured out that I'll find you here, it's the only park in the neighborhood that has a swing set." Brandon said tucking the loose strands of her hair behind her ear.

"You never let me say, what I wanted to tell you before you left." He run his fingers through her hair. "I don't hate you, I can't do that because I love you too much, Kelly. I want to be in the baby's life, and your and Sam's life, if you let me." Brandon said looking directly at her.

She nodded looking at him with a smile on her lips. "Now, for the first time in a while, I know what I want. I want you in our life."

He watched her shivering, "Let's go back to my place, we can talk there. I don't want you to get sick." He helped Kelly up and led her to his car. They were both quiet during the ride back, lost in their thoughts.

Arriving back at his place he handed her a blanket and headed to the kitchen to prepare some tea for them. Meanwhile Kelly snuggled under the blanket on the sofa in the living room, she looked around noticing some empty shelves. The living room had definitely some manly touches, which seemed odd to her. Then it finally clicked. She was pulled out of her thoughts when Brandon came with the tea and some cookies. "Feeling a bit warmer?" He asked, setting everything on the coffee table.

"Yes." She smiled. "Brandon, can I ask you something?"

"Sure", he said as he sat in the armchair.

"Are you and Susan divorced?" Kelly blurred out.

"Yes, we are. For nearly two months, the divorce was finalized that day I visited you in Buffalo."

"I'm sorry." She said looking at him.

"Me too, I guess. But then, we should have probably never got married in the first place." Brandon shrugged.

"What happened?" Kelly took a sip of the hot tea.

"I think we grew apart. Maybe we never really grew together. We loved each other, but we were not in love with each other if you know what I mean."

"I think I do. What about Julie, how is she taking all of this?"

"I don't know, I haven't seen her in a months, Susan does not want me to. Kel, there is something you need to know, Julie…Julie is not my daughter."

"What?" Kelly sat up staring at Brandon.

"When we returned from LA, Susan dropped that bomb on me. We did the paternity test and they confirmed it, Jonathan is her father." Brandon said.

Kelly pulled the blanket aside and moved to the armchair wrapping her arms around him. "I'm sorry Brandon."

"It's not your fault Kel." He wrapped his hands around her resting them on her stomach for the first time. As if the baby approved they felt it kicking which brought smiles on their faces. "So tell me about the baby."

She rested her head on his shoulder, it felt good to be in his arms again. "I'm nearly 6 months along, but you probably figured that one out already. Everything looks great so far."

"Do you know who's in there?" Brandon asked not really caring if it's a boy or girl.

"Yes, I do." Kelly smiled softly looking at Brandon. "We're going to have a baby girl."

Brandon smiled as he put his hand on the nape of her neck and brought her face close for a kiss. "How's Sam taking the news?" He asked as they pulled apart.

"He's excited, although he'd prefer a brother." Kelly smiled.

Brandon smiled too, "Now to the most important part. How do you feel?" He asked stroking her hair.

"Scared, tired and lost, but I'm glad I'm here with you." She looked at him before she rested her head back on his shoulder. "Growing up with my mom, I always thought that I won't repeat the same mistakes she did, with me, with her life. Here I'm at 29, single mother with another one on the way and my life is probably way more messed up than hers ever was."

"You shouldn't be so hard on yourself, Kel. From what I heard you're a great mom to Sam and I'm sure you'll be a great mom to our baby girl. Maybe things are not happening in the order we want them to be, but we'll make this work." He kissed her forehead. "You remember that night before I left to Washington over 6 year ago?"

Kelly nodded. "I don't think I'd be ever able to forget it."

"You asked me, if I had any regrets."

"Yes, you told me you didn't have any." She looked at him.

"I have many now." He said quietly. "I regret the day I let you go. I regret every single day I spent without you in my life. I regret leaving you in LA alone, which allowed Dylan to come back to your life."

"You can't blame yourself for the Dylan thing." Kelly rested her hand on his cheek. "I was the one who let him back into my life. God knows I paid my price for that. The only good thing that came out of that relationship is Sammy." She smiled softly. "I have a few regrets myself and they are pretty similar to yours. But I finally don't regret one thing."

"What's that?" He caressed her cheek.

"That night at my apartment in Los Angeles, when we conceived this baby." She smiled. "I love you, Brandon."

Just three little words, but nothing else in the world could make Brandon happier, than hearing them from her after 6 long years. "I love you too, Kelly." He leaned in and kissed her softly on her lips. The kiss soon grew in intensity and minutes later the couple found themselves in Brandon's bed, intertwined as they were feverishly kissing each other their hands exploring their bodies before they became one.

Minutes later they both rested back on the bed their breathing still irregular and sweat glistening on their bodies. Brandon pulled up the sheets covering them both as Kelly snuggled close to him. "That." She whispered. "Was amazing."

"I can only second that." Brandon chuckled kissing the top of her head as he pulled her close to him.

Kelly smiled drawing invisible circles on Brandon's chest. She hasn't felt this safe and loved in a long time and she was enjoying it as much as she could while it lasted, but there were still some things that they needed to talk about. She shifted herself so she was laying on her side, her head resting on her hand. "Brandon?"

He shifted himself too looking at her now. "What is it, Kel?" He asked.

"I love you and I want to be with you, but how are we going to do this? You're in Washington, me and Sam in Buffalo."

He knew that this conversation was about to come up at some point and in his mind he was already composing his resignation letter, "Kel, I told you that we will make this work. If me resigning at the newspaper and moving with you to Buffalo is what it takes for us to be together, than I'm more than ready to do that." He smiled.

"I don't want you to do that." She caressed his cheek. "You love your job, don't you?"

"I do, but if I had to choose between my job and you, our baby & Sam, I've no doubts what to do."

"You always say just the right thing." Kelly smiled. "There is also another option, you keep your job and me and Sam move to Washington."

"Are you sure, you want to do that?" Brandon asked concerned.

Kelly knew what he was thinking. "He won't be looking for us in Washington either. Besides that, except you and Valerie no one will know about it anyway."

Brandon smiled. "You're probably right, Kel. I just don't want anything happen to the three of you."

"I know and I appreciate that. But I can't let him control my life, he has already done that for way too long." She felt the tears in her eyes. "I want us together. You, me, Sam and our baby girl as a family. I want us to be happy without having to think about every step we make."

Brandon pulled her close, holding her as close as her belly allowed him to while he brushed away her tears. "We'll have all of that, Kel. First we will move you and Sam to Washington and then we'll talk with the lawyer. There has to be something they can do to protect you and Sam from Dylan."

Kelly nodded. "Now get some sleep. It's been a long day." Brandon kissed her forehead.

"Night, Brandon." She whispered.

"Night, Kel." He watched her as she closed her eyes and almost immediately drifted off to sleep. He still couldn't believe that she was there and she wanted to be with him hopefully forever. He kissed her forehead one more time before he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep too, this time sure that she'll be there when he wakes up the next morning.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Brandon woke up in the middle of the night feeling Kelly squirming next to him, trying to get herself out of the bed. "Where are you going, Kel?" He mumbled sleepily.

"I didn't mean to wake you up, but I have to go to…" she giggled.

"Oh, the joys of pregnancy." He laughed understanding what she meant. "Grab one of my shirts they are in the top drawer, it's cold out there."

"Okay, I'll be right back." She kissed his cheek before she got out of the bed and headed to bathroom. Minutes later she slid back under the warm sheets snuggling to him as she wrapped her hands around his waist.

"I've missed you." Brandon mumbled when he felt her next to him.

"I've been gone just for a few minutes, silly." Kelly giggled before turning serious again. "Brandon, do you really want to do this?" she asked staring into the dark feeling insecure once again.

"Do what, Kel?" He asked awake now.

"Be with me, Sam and our baby girl." She whispered.

He put a finger under her chin and lifted it before kissing her softly. "I've never wanted anything more, Kel." He ran his fingers through her hair. "I want this, I want to be with you, want to wake up next to you every morning, watch Sam and our daughter grow up, watch them graduate and get married, get old and wrinkly with you." He laughed. "Now that you walked back into my life, you won't get rid of me that easily."

Kelly smiled into the dark. "I don't want to get rid of you, ever. I'm just scared I guess."

"Kel." He shifted on his side so he was now facing her, his face lowering over hers. "I'm not Dylan. I won't just walk away from you, and most important I'll never intentionally hurt you."

"I know." She whispered.

"So stop worrying now. You don't need to stress yourself, it's not good for you and it's not good for our baby girl. I'm here for you and I'm not going anywhere." He rested his hand on her belly, stroking it gently before he leaned in and kissed her softly on her lips. Kelly ran her hands up his bare back deepening the kiss. She tilted her head backwards as Brandon trailed kisses down her neck. "Two times in one night." She giggled softly. "Reliving our college years, Mr. Walsh?"

"I can't help it." He mumbled between the kissed. "You're just incredibly sexy." Brandon said while pulling the shirt off her in one fluid movement looking down at her naked body glistening in the moonlight. "I don't think I'll be able to keep my hands off you anytime soon." He smirked before he leaned in again kissing her passionately.

* * *

Brandon grabbed the bag out of the car trunk and took Kelly's hand following the departure signs. "Am I a bad mother if I'd rather stay here with you than head back to Buffalo?" Kelly giggled.

"No, you are not." Brandon smiled. "I think that means that you enjoyed the weekend here with me."

"That." Kelly kissed him softly as they arrived to the security control. "Would be an understatement." She finished while she wrapped her arms around his neck, "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too, Kel. But it's just for 5 days, I'll come to pick you and Sam up in Buffalo on Friday and we will be together after that." He tucked a few loose strands of her hair behind her ear.

"I can't wait for that." Kelly smiled looking into his eyes.

"Neither can I." Brandon whispered so only Kelly could hear him.

She kissed him goodbye embracing him tightly. "I'll see you on Friday."

"You bet." He smiled as he rested his hands on her stomach. "Take it easy, Kel."

"I will no worries." She smiled taking his hands into hers and kissing him one last time before turning around and heading to the security control.

* * *

"Mommy!" Sammy squealed in delight when he saw Kelly entering the apartment, he dropped his toys onto the floor running towards her.

"Hi Sam!" Kelly hugged him thigh.

"I've missed you mommy." The little boy exclaimed.

"I've missed you too. Were you good for aunt Val?" Kelly asked stroking his blond curls.

The little boy nodded enthusiastically.

"I can only second that." Val smiled as she entered the room. "He was a complete angel."

"Thanks for watching him, Val." Kelly smiled.

"Anytime. So, how did it go with Brandon?" Val asked as Sam returned back to his toys.

"It went well." Kelly smiled her cheeks going a light shade of pink. "I hope you won't be mad at me. Brandon wants me and Sam to move in with him in Washington."

Valerie laughed. "Mad? Come on Kelly, who do you think worked her butt off for nearly two months to get the two of you back together?"

"And you said that you were never going to play the third-party between the two of us again." Kelly laughed.

"This time it was for a good cause and you certainly needed a little push. I'm glad you two worked things out. Now that you and Sam will be in Washington too, I've a good reason to come and visit all of you more often."

"You'll have to. Your god-daughter will be there too." Kelly smiled.

"Have you told Brandon already?" Val laughed.

"Nope, but I don't think he'll have any objections." Kelly said resting her hand on her belly.

"So, when are you two going to leave me here all alone?"

"Brandon's coming on Friday and we'll leave on Saturday with him. I need to lose all the tied ends until then."

"I have to admit that I'm going to miss having the two of you around."

Kelly laughed. "Years back I never thought that I'll ever hear something like this from you or that I'd feel the same way."

"We've grown up a bit I guess." Val laughed.

"Definitely."

* * *

Small smile creeped on Kelly's lips as she watched Sammy & Brandon picking up the perfect pumpkin for Halloween. It have been two weeks since she and Sam moved to Washington and moved in with Brandon. She was glad but at the same time surprised how quickly her otherwise shy little boy warmed up to Brandon, she never realized how much he was starving for a stable male figure in his life until she watched him with Brandon. Since they got back together, Brandon has been nothing less but amazing with her and Sammy. She could tell that his words about wanting to be a family were not only words.

Kelly felt the small hand sliding into her bigger one. "We picked the perfect one, mommy." Sam exclaimed happily. "Uncle Brandon said we will carve it when we get home." Sam turned to Brandon waiting for his confirmation.

"That's right Sammy." Brandon smiled when he put the pumpkin on the cart standing next to Kelly. "Anything else you want to get Kel?" Brandon asked.

"I think we have everything." She looked at the big pumpkin and a few smaller ones that they picked up earlier on.

"Let's go home then. We can pick the dinner up on our way." Brandon smiled.

"Sounds good to me." Kelly smiled as she turned and slowly moved towards the cashier area.

"Daddy!" suddenly a small girl's voice could be heard through the pumpkin patch area. Brandon turned around and saw Julie running towards him. She had sure grown up in the last months. As she reached him he picked her up and hugged her thigh, the little girl burying her face in the nape of his neck. Even though she was not his daughter he still couldn't help but thought of her as his. "Daddy, I've missed you." Julie whispered.

"Julie what did I tell you about running away?" Susan said irritated as she approached the group before Brandon could say anything to Julie.

Brandon sat Julie back on the ground and the little girl immediately grabbed his leg something she did every time when she knew she was in trouble with her mom. "Hi Susan!" He greeted his ex-wife.

"Hi Brandon!" She said as she pulled Julie away from Brandon's leg. "Kelly?!" Surprise could be seen on Susan's face as she recognized the familiar face with Brandon. She looked her over noticing her bump and the little boy clinging to her leg. She smirked. "Karma is a bitch, isn't it Brandon? I see you were not wasting any time in Los Angeles. Now I see which friend you were visiting over there." Kelly tucked on the cardigan she was wearing suddenly feeling very uncomfortable.

"Susan…" Brandon started but was quickly cut-off.

"I don't want to hear that Brandon." Susan said taking Julie's hand and storming off.

Brandon watched them leave before he turned back to Kelly and Sam who now let go of his mother's leg. "Let's go home." He said as the three of them moved towards the cashier.

* * *

Brandon sat on the sofa, waiting for Kelly to come out of Sam's room. He could tell that her mood went downhill after the Susan sighting, she barely talked to him after that.

"He's out." Kelly said closing the door on Sam's room behind her. "I think I'm going to bed too." She rubbed her back. "It's been a long day."

"Come here for a bit Kel." Brandon patted the spot next to him.

Hesitating for a bit she moved towards the sofa and sat up next to Brandon. He put an arm around her shoulder. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Is it what Susan said at the pumpkin patch? I thought we were over this."

"We were. I guess it's just different when it's showed in your face like that." She sighed. "Not regretting that night still does not change the fact that you were married at the time when it happened."

"Kel, we were already heading toward divorce when it happened." He sighed.

"So, you felt lonely and I was there…" Kelly said tears building in her eyes.

"You know it was not like that. You should finally start trusting me." He put a finger under her chin forcing her to look at him. "I slept with you because I love you, not because I felt lonely or anything else. I never regretted it, if anything it assured me that divorce was the right thing to do."

"Why is it that whenever we get together we leave someone hurt behind us? First Dylan, then Tracy and now Susan." Kelly asked resting her head on his shoulder.

"I don't know, I think Susan was more surprised than hurt, our divorce was mutual decision not just mine. We both knew it was not working since we both were in love with someone else." He run his fingers through her hair.

"And who were you in love with?" Kelly asked a small playful smile on her lips.

"I'm not sure if you know her." Brandon smiled kissing her softly. "We met for the first time when we started high school, but she was dating someone else back then. During one sunny day while we were in college she followed me across the country to Washington and we returned to Los Angeles as a couple. During the years I let her go twice. Years later she found me in Washington again and on that day I promised myself to never let her go again."

"I won't be going anywhere." Kelly playfully kissed him on the lips.

He leaned in and kissed her again. "I know Kel and you don't know how happy that makes me feel."

"I do have a slight idea." Kelly giggled resting her head back on his shoulder as Brandon wrapped his arms around her. "I want to stay like this forever."

He kissed the top of her head, just holding her close to him.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The house was full of smell of vanilla and cinnamon as Kelly took the last plate of cookies out of the oven. She looked at her little helper who was now napping on the sofa after helping her cut out the star-shaped sweet treats. Brandon's parents were scheduled to arrive the next day. Brandon told them about their relationship and pregnancy a few weeks ago and they slightly changed their trip plans for the holidays, making their first stop in Washington to visit the Walsh-Taylor household, before heading to Minnesota to visit some of their friends and returning back to Washington to spend the Christmas Holidays with the threesome.

She rested her hands on her hips looking at the result of her and Sam's efforts, she felt Lucy kicking which prompted her to caress her now prominent 8 months belly. She and Brandon decided on the name for their daughter previous evening. It felt great to think of her as of Lucy instead of the impersonal baby girl. She couldn't wait to hold her daughter in her arms, hopefully in 6 weeks.

The door bell rang so she moved to the front door as fast as she could.

"Merry Christmas, Kel!" she heard when she opened them, she took a few steps back before everything went dark.

* * *

It was a pretty uneventful day at Washington Post, if something like that could be used in journalism world. Brandon just finished an article. He decided to call Kelly before going on his well deserved break. He raised his eyebrows when no one picked their home phone, he was sure she was going to be home baking Christmas cookies with Sam. Maybe they just ran out of something and she had to go and get it, so he tried her cell instead but no one was answering that one either and he was redirected to the voice mail. He was never paranoid about things like that, but with Kelly just weeks shy of her due date, he had an uneasy feeling when he was not able to reach her.

Brandon put the phone down and massaged his temples. He was not sure what to do, maybe it was nothing but his gut feeling was telling him that it was probably something. "Josh, I need to head out for a bit. I'll be right back." He said to his colleague as he grabbed the coat of his chair.

"I'll tell him that you had to go and verify some facts if he asks." Josh motioned towards the direction of their boss' office.

"Thanks!" Brandon said as he headed out of the office.

Brandon arrived at their house 10 minutes later, during the drive he tried Kelly's cell one more time with the same result. He saw Kelly's car in the driveway and pulled behind it. This was getting stranger by a minute. He got out of the car and headed to the front door, noticing that it was open almost immediately. "Kel!" he shouted as he got inside.

"Kelly!" he shouted again when no reply came. His eyes suddenly fell on the floor noticing the trails of blood. His eyes unwillingly followed them before his eyes stopped on Kelly. She was almost white lying in a pool of her own blood, for a second he couldn't move, his breathing stopping.

He quickly moved towards her trying her pulse. He sighed in relief when he found it immediately and saw that she was breathing. Brandon grabbed his cell and quickly dialed 911, but before he could confirm the call he heard a voice. "I've already done that, they should be here any minute."

Brandon knew whom the voice belonged and gritted his teeth. "McKay, I should have known it was you."

"I haven't touched her, except when trying her pulse when she fainted." Dylan said dryly.

"Like I believe you. You can keep that one for police when they come to get you." The blood was boiling in Brandon's veins.

"Yeah, I deserve that." Dylan looked down at Kelly. "I took Sam to his room, he was asleep and does not need to see his mother like this if he wakes up."

"What a change. From jerk to a loving father." Brandon looked down at Kelly as he heard the paramedics pulling into the driveway, he just hoped that she and their daughter were going to be okay.

* * *

"Can we see mommy now?" Sam asked impatiently. Hour passed already since they arrived at the hospital and they still haven't heard anything from Kelly's doctor.

"We have to wait for a bit longer Sammy. How about you color that one too?" Brandon said pointing to Sammy's opened coloring book.

"Okay." Sammy went back to coloring.

Brandon massaged his temples. Dylan disappeared as soon as the paramedics arrived, but he was sure that he has not left Washington and their paths will cross rather sooner than later. He could see that one coming. There was something that made Brandon believe that he did not come to hurt Kelly this time.

"You're here for Kelly Taylor right?" A young doctor walked into the waiting room.

"Yes." Brandon stood up quickly. "How is she doing?"

"She suffered a concussion and we needed to give her a few stitches on her head. Otherwise both her and the baby are stable." Brandon breathed a sigh of relief.

"I want to keep her in here overnight due to the concussion, if no complications occur she can go home tomorrow." The doctor finished.

"Can we see her now?" Brandon asked.

"Yes, she's in room 742."

"Thank you doctor." Brandon gathered Sammy's things and took his hand as the two of them walked to Kelly's room.

Brandon gave the door a gentle push letting the two of them into Kelly's room. Sammy immediately let go of his hand and ran to Kelly's bed climbing up next to his mom. "Mommy, I missed you."

"I missed you too, Sam." She smiled. Brandon walked to them and kissed Kelly's forehead.

"It's good to see you awake, Kel. You got me worried there." He run his fingers down her cheek.

"I told you we should move that coffee table from the entrance hall." Kelly laughed softly.

"You were right. I'll do that tonight." He watched her closely.

"Did you talk to the doctor?" Kelly asked.

"Yes, I'm glad you both are okay. So what happened there?" Brandon asked. He wanted to know that since the moment he found Kelly.

"I don't know. When I opened the door and saw him standing there…everything went black suddenly. I guess I fainted and hit my head on the table. He did not hurt me Brandon." Kelly looked at him.

"That's what he said as well." Brandon mumbled.

"Did you talk to him?" Kelly asked surprised.

"Yes, when I came home he was still there. I couldn't reach you on the phone so I went home, finding you in the entrance hall. Then Dylan appeared telling me that the paramedics were on their way."

"That's strange. Do you think he's still somewhere around?" Kelly asked stroking Sam's hair.

"I don't know, but I think so. He disappeared when the paramedics arrived." Brandon said just as a nurse entered the room.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, but Kelly needs to get some rest." She said politely.

"Alright. Good night, Kel." Brandon kissed her softly. "I'll come to pick you up when they release you tomorrow."

"Bye mommy." Sammy said as she hugged him closely.

"Good night you two." Kelly said as she watched them leaving the room.

* * *

Brandon sat at the sofa in the living room with laptop in his lap. It was a peaceful Sunday afternoon at their house, the last one before Christmas. His parents left for Minnesota the day before and both Sam and Kelly were taking their naps allowing him to catch up on his work. With Kelly's brief hospital stay and his parents visiting them, there was not much time left for work during the week. He heard knock on the front door so he put the laptop aside and headed to the door. He was not surprised to see him there. "Surprise, surprise. I should have known that you'll show up at some point McKay."

"Can we talk?" Dylan asked.

"I don't really feel like talking to you. But I don't think that I've other choice." Brandon said stepping aside and letting Dylan into the house.

"Thank you! I'll keep it short." Dylan said as the two of them headed into the living room.

"So, spill the beans." Brandon said impatiently.

Dylan reached into his jacket and put out an envelope setting it on the coffee table in front of him. "I talked to my lawyer and in that envelope is everything you and Kelly need if you decide to adopt Sam one day."

"You've given up your rights on Sam?" Brandon asked surprised.

"Yes." Dylan said quietly. "It's the least I can do in this situation. I wanted to give them to Kelly the other day, but you know how that one ended. Is she okay now?"

"She's fine and so is the baby." Brandon watched Dylan.

"Yeah, the baby. Congrats to you two." Dylan said sincerely.

"How did you find where Kelly was staying?" The question was bugging Brandon for a while.

"Your ex was not exactly excited when she saw you with Kelly the other day, she needed someone to talk so she called Janet. I know it from her, she told me when I came to ask Steve if he knew anything about Kelly." Dylan said.

Brandon groaned, he should have known that Susan would babble something to Janet, they were friends after all. "Just tell me one more thing Dylan. Why were you hurting Kelly? We all know that you love alcohol and drugs, but I never thought that you'd be capable of hurting anyone not even when you were intoxicated, let alone someone you loved at some point of your life."

"Believe me, I never thought that I'd be capable of that. But it happened, and I can't take it back as much as I would want to. I was mad at her I guess. We were doing good, then she stayed pregnant. I never wanted children, but I had no say with this one, she gave me no choice just to become father even though I always knew I'd be a crappy one." Dylan paused.

"But that's not a reason to start beating her up. Did you ever ask Kelly why she wanted to keep Sam so badly?" Brandon asked.

"No. She did not tell me when she said that she wanted to keep the baby and I haven't seen her up until Sam was born." Dylan said truthfully.

"Kelly and me….I got her pregnant in college, but she lost our baby shortly before graduation. That's when she found out that she got a medical condition, it's hard for her to get pregnant and even harder to carry the child to term. That's why she'd never have abortion." Brandon said looking at Dylan.

Dylan rested his head in his palms before he continued. "After her decision I found comfort in alcohol and later also in drugs. It was a vicious circle and it started getting worse once Sam was born, he was real, there was a link for life, no going back. That's when I got into drugs, not the usual ones, but some really powerful stuff. I haven't touched Kelly while she was pregnant, it started after Sam was born. Sometimes I did not remember what I did the night before just found bruises on my palms the next morning, the other times I still have in front of my eyes and it makes me sick. I know it's not an excuse. I tried to stay away as much as I could, but as I said it was vicious circle…finally some months ago I was admitted to rehab after a scrimmage in a bar, it was either rehab or a few months in jail. I wish I went there years earlier."

"I don't know what to say." Brandon said truthfully.

"You don't have to say anything. Just take care of her and Sam. They both deserve to be happy and loved and that's what you're giving both." Dylan said before he stood up and left the house leaving the envelope there.

Brandon stayed in the armchair, lot of thoughts going through his head. He soon felt Kelly wrapping her arms around him. "I thought you were resting." He smiled sweetly at her, pulling her in his lap.

"I heard voices." She said quietly resting her head on his shoulder.

"How much did you hear?" Brandon asked carefully.

"Pretty much the whole explanation."

"How does that make you feel?" Brandon run his fingers through her hair.

"I don't know. But I can finally move on I guess." Kelly said before her eyes fell on the envelope on the table. "What's in there?" She asked.

"Dylan gave up his rights on Sam. He brought those papers in case I decide to adopt him." Brandon smiled.

"You want to adopt Sam?"

"Yes, I was thinking we could look into it after we get married." He kissed her softly. "I want us to be a family, a real family. You, me, Sam and Lucy." He rested his hand on Kelly's stomach.

"I'd love that." Kelly whispered softly with a smile on her lips.


	10. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

_Los Angeles, 3 and half years later_

Brandon and Sam were waiting at the LAX airport for the plane from Washington. The family has moved back to Los Angeles six months ago when Brandon was offered a job at LA Chronicle. Today Julie was coming to visit her "first dad", as she liked to refer to Brandon, and his family for the first time since they moved. It took some time, but Susan admitted that she made a mistake when she cut the relationship between Brandon and Julie and allowed Brandon and his family back to her life. She and Jonathan moved into the same neighborhood in Washington as Brandon and Kelly were living in, and Julie and Sam became best of friends. It was hard for both kids when the Walsh family moved back to Los Angeles and it was also the main reason for Brandon's long hesitation before he took the offer. Sam was now impatiently looking over the passengers that were coming out of the flight to Los Angeles before he spotted Julie accompanied by one of the flight attendants. "There she is dad!" He exclaimed happily before he run in her direction followed by Brandon.

After the meeting and greeting the trio got in Brandon's car and started the drive home to Casa Walsh, the two kids excitedly sharing all the news in their lives with each other. Brandon smiled when he thought of what his life has become. 6 weeks after Dylan's visit, Kelly gave birth to their daughter Lucy Anne. When it came to looks, the now three-year old girl, was the carbon copy of her mother with her blond hair and blue eyes, but had her father's personality. He and Kelly got married the next summer, it was a small wedding with Sam as a ring bearer, attended only by their parents and closest friends, but they wouldn't want to have it any other way. Shortly after the wedding Brandon adopted Sam, it was a surprisingly easy ride with Dylan's papers. It was only after the adoption that his biological father became real part of Sam's life too. Kelly was eventually able to forgive Dylan everything and he stopped by each time he was either in Washington or now Los Angeles to spent some time with the Walsh family. Otherwise their friend was on the go as usually, travelling the world and enjoying the life at fullest.

Brandon pulled into the driveway of Casa Walsh. When Steve found out that Brandon & Kelly were coming back to Los Angeles he offered the house back to Brandon and he accepted the offer buying the house from him. He let both kids out of the car and grabbed Julie's bags from the trunk.

"Kel, we're here." He said as they walked into the house. They were first greeted by Lucy who was wearing her new princess dress, closely followed by her mother and the newest addition to the Walsh family, Kelly and Brandon's two month old son Oliver James. As all other Kelly's pregnancies also this one came as a complete surprise to them, but they couldn't be happier. Ollie, as he was referred to by his parents and siblings, was a mellow dark-haired baby and fitted perfectly into the family.

"Hi Julie!" Kelly greeted the little girl giving her a hug.

"Hello Auntie Kelly. I couldn't wait to visit you and see the baby." Julie exclaimed happily.

"We're glad you're here." Kelly smiled showing her off the baby boy in her arms. "Now go wash your hands with Sam and Lucy, we will have dinner in a bit. Spaghetti, with salad and garlic bread."

"Yummy!" The kids run off to wash their hands.

Kelly watched the kids heading to the bathroom as she felt Brandon's arms around her. "Have I told you lately how much I love you?" He whispered softly.

"I vaguely remember hearing something like that this morning." She giggled. "But it never gets old."

"I don't know what I would do without you, Kel." He kissed her cheek.

"And I don't know what I would do without you. Back in college after I lost our baby and the doctor told me about my diagnoses, I never imagined that this could be my life one day. But you managed to give me the life I was not even hoping for. I've a loving husband, three beautiful and healthy children, great job and my friends around." Kelly smiled kissing Brandon before they both looked down at their sleeping son in Kelly's arms.


End file.
